CAS Foliage

Hello,

I am here with a quick post whilst I enjoy the Easter sunshine in Spain to share a card that I made just before I set off for my hols.  It is another card for the AAA Card Challenge where we are just using a third of the card front.

I masked a diagonal panel and used my foliage stencil to ink through in shades of green distress inks.  I die cut a few Penny Black dragonflies from a piece of cardstock that had been coloured with purple and blue sparkle pens and added a sentiment from Hero Arts.

Very simple and nearly one layer! I love the variation of greens and detail that the stencil adds. 

I shall also link up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes and Anything Goes with Dies at Happy Little Stampers.

As always, my stencils are available to purchase from my Folksy store :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Uniko Challenge

Hello!

I am popping by with a reminder about the new challenge at Uniko.  Given that Easter is fast approaching it seems appropriate to have a challenge that combines fresh spring colours with an optional twist of easter:

I decided to focus on the colours and have another play with the fab balloon bash stencil that Uniko released at the end of Feb.  I inked through the smallest balloon in each of the 5 colours and added a sentiment from the new Birthday Sentiments set and a bow from the original Balloon Bash stamp set.  Finally I added die cut letters (from Stamplorations) to the balloons to complete the sentiment. 

The photo doesn't show the colours very well but I promise that they are much closer to the inspiration colours in real life.  The colour on the end is pink....not red!

Anyway, I hope you like it and check out the super inspiration that the rest of the DT have in store for you at the Uniko blog.  You have until 20 April to play along so there is still lots of time to get involved.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah x

Time Out #106

Hello!

I am delighted to be the GD at the latest Time Out Challenge :)  There is a stunning photo inspiration for this challenge which has lots of lovely details and elements:

I love the soft blues and yellows and my eye was drawn to the lemons so I made this:

I stamped and masked the lemons (by Sheena Douglass) and softly inked through a new stencil (Moroccan Star) which mirrors the beautiful vase in the photo.  The stamped image was watercoloured with sparkle pens.

I shall also link up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes and for a final time at the current one layer card challenge, Less is More, where we are creating with stencils.

As always the fab DT have lots of inspiration for you.  I look forward to seeing which aspects of the image inspire you....the colours, the stripes, the blossoms etc.  Have fun!

The stencil is available, along with lots of other designs, in my Folksy shop.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Uniko Revisit - Fun Flowers

Hello!

We are revisiting Uniko's Fun Flowers stamp set and stencil this weekend and I decided to use the stencil to create a flowery unicorn :)

I used the flower stencil through the aperture of my unicorn stencil and inked it with distress inks.  I lightly inked round the outline of the unicorn to give it some definition.  I also used the stencil on the card base to provide a flowery and colourful frame.  

I hope this card makes you smile!  I shall link up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge which is Floral Frenzy.  Thanks to Izzy too for pointing out that I could enter this card at Inkspirational's current challenge which is 'mythical'!

Do visit the rest of the fab DT on the Uniko blog hop.  If you leave comments by 7 April you will be in with a chance to win an e-gift card of £15.

Thank you for your visit :)

Sarah x

One Layer Cards with Stencils

Hello!

Just popping in with a few one layer cards that I have made this week with my stencils.....sometimes it is just fun to ink them up to create quick and easy cards :)

Here is a card that I have made to play along at AAA Cards where the challenge is to only use a third of the card front.....a great way to keep things CAS.

Here, I simply inked through the honeycomb/hexagon stencil with distress oxides and inked a bee silhouette stencil over the top that I am currently working on.  The sentiment is from Avery Elle.

I have made a second card for Time Out using the large geometric circle stencil and some of the geo circle background images.  Overlaying them adds extra interest.  The sentiment is from MFT.

I hope you like these two simple cards :)  The stencils that I have used are available to purchase in my Folksy store.

      

See you soon,

Sarah x

Hexagonal Windows

Hello!

You may have seen from some of my previous cards that I love using the apertures on my stencils as 'windows' for creating scenes/patterns into.  I have 2 examples to share today.

First up is a one layer card made with my new hexagon stencil.  I selectively inked in to some of the hexagons in greens and browns before stamping some beautiful mini wildlife images from Clarity in to the apertures:

The sentiment is also from Clarity.  I really like how this turned out....it was really simple to do too :)  I shall link this card up for a second time at Less is More where the challenge is to use stencils on a one layer card.

On this card I used a fab set of mark making stamps from Neat and Tangled inside my owl in flight stencil.  A bit of gentle inking around the edge gives the shape definition.  I added some pink splatter stamps from WPlus9 and a sentiment from Prima.  This is a bit more of an artsy design but I think it has lots of visual impact.   I shall link up at Addicted to CAS where the code word is Birds.

I hope you like today's nature inspired makes!  

Remember that you can buy my stencils in my Folksy shop :)

Sarah x

Drama and Ombre

Hello!

Are you having a good weekend?  It is horribly cold with snow showers here so I am taking that as a sign that I should stay warm inside :)  Of course, that means I have been playing with stencils!

First up is a one layer card that I have made for the new challenge at Less is More:

I masked a panel on the black card base and dabbed through my triangle grid stencil with gilding glue and then rubbed gilding flakes over the top.  The sentiment is embossed in silver.  I was inspired by this fabulous card by Sharon in creating my design.

On this card I have inked through my Forest Foliage stencil in shades of green to create an ombre effect.  I added one of the beautiful butterflies from Stamplorations to the design along with one of their sentiments.  

I shall link this card up at AAA cards where the challenge is to feature ombre and at Simon's Wednesday spring themed challenge.  

I hope you like these two designs and the stencils that I used to create them which you can find in my Folksy store.

See you again soon!

Sarah x

Sunshine and Flowers

Hello!

It still feels quite wintry here but I see that lots of challenges are celebrating spring and easter so I am happy to play along in the hope that it won't be long until I see sunshine again :)

First up is a card that I have made for Time Out who are celebrating their 4th birthday!  Congrats to Sandie and the DT for keeping us all inspired.  I decided to focus on the sunshine part of the inspiration quote.....

I inked through my geometric circle stencil and die cut a circle in the centre to create an aperture.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.  Here is the quote that inspired my design:

 

I have also been playing with my alcohol inks recently but don't always know what to do with the results.  On my next card I used one of the alcohol ink backgrounds to paper piece this pretty die from Memory Box.

I love the vibrancy of the petals against all of the white space!  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.  I shall link up at The Flower Challenge where Anything Goes and at Simon's Wednesday Challenge as the colours work really well with the spring moodboard.

I hope you are looking forward to a crafty weekend!  See you again soon,

Sarah x

Magical Unicorn

Hello!

Unicorns have been popular for some time and so I decided to make a stencil that I could use to create some magically inspired cards:

I masked a circle for the moon and then inked through the stencil in Blueprint Sketch and Faded Jeans distress oxides.  I also masked off the horn so that I could emboss that in silver.  I added a stream of stars from Uniko's Reach for the Stars stamp set and embossed them in silver too.  The sentiment is from Mama Elephant.  I shall link up this card at Just Us Girls where the theme is Mythical or Magical.

Here I inked through the stencil using Uniko's star stencil in pastel colours.  Gently inking round the outline gives the shape definition.  I embossed the horn in gold on this card.  The sentiment is actually from a Penny Black christmas set but I thought it fitted well with the image!

I hope you like my makes with this new stencil which is available to buy in my Folksy store :)

Thanks as always for stopping by,

Sarah x

More Graphic Designs

Hello!

A quick post today to share a few cards with a new stencil design which features geometric crosses and squares.  

I masked a circle and inked through the stencil in shades of blue, adding a touch of blue around the circle to give it definition.  I added some other circular elements including the game controller and sentiment from Papertrey.  As this card is all in shades of blue, I shall link up for a second time at Less is More's current monochrome challenge.

As I had enjoyed inking the circle on the first card, I created a second design featuring masked circles in different sizes.  The sentiment is from Altenew.  I shall link up at the last minute to Seize the Birthday's current Anything Goes challenge.

I think that both of these cards work well for male birthdays!

This is the stencil that I was working with which you can find for sale in my Folksy store.

Thank you for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Getting to the Point!

Hello!

I have been busy making and playing with more stencils this weekend and today I wanted to share a few cards that I have made with a stencil which features a random triangle design.  I have noticed that triangles are getting a lot of love in blogland at the moment so I wanted to create a stencil that would be versatile and fun to use.  The triangles on this stencil are rotated in different directions but also far enough apart that you can move it around to get the triangles where you want them or ink the whole stencil to create a background pattern.

Let me show you what I mean:

On this card I inked through the stencil with a range of distress oxides and then moved it a few times to add additional triangles to the background.  I stamped over the top with the fab graphic thanks sentiment from Uniko.  I shall link this card up for a 3rd (and last time, I promise!) at Time Out where the inspiration word is Bold.  

To create a more CAS design, I inked through the stencil on a strip of card and kept moving it until I had the mix of colours and level of overlap that I wanted.  I die cut a large sentiment from the panel and stacked it up in contrasting coloured card.  I will link this card up at CASology where the cue card is abstract.  Hopefully the random triangles are abstract enough!

I am looking forward to trying this stencil out with texture pastes, paints and embossed on to different colour card.  It is a design that works for male and female cards too which is always a bonus :)

I shall be back soon with some more stencil designs.....I hope you like them!  In the meantime, you can find the triangle background in my Folksy store.

See you again soon!

Sarah x

Black, White and Bold

Hello,

I wanted to share a few cards that I have made for current challenges that I always like to take part in.  First up is a simple black and white card for Less is More where we are being asked to create monochromatic designs.  I have very simply stamped a lovely detailed floral design from Indigoblu as the focal point on the card:

I think that the black and white looks nice and elegant!  I shall also link up at the Flower Challenge where Anything Goes.

Here I have made a second card for Time Out where the inspiration word is bold.  I used one of my stencil designs in black and yellow to create a background for the vibrant birds die from Stamplorations.  I have coloured the card with sparkle pens before die cutting and also layered them on top of a black layer to give them a bit more definition.  The fab sentiment is from Visible Image.  I was inspired by these vibrant birds from the super creative Maria Fischer :)

I will also link this card up at Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies challenge and at Stamplorations March Challenge where the theme is Spring and Faith.

I hope you like these 2 cards.

Thank you for stopping by,

Sarah x

Take It, Make It Challenge!

Hello!

I am popping in with a reminder post for this month's Take It, Make It challenge over at the Craft Stamper blog.  Anything goes as long as you use stamping on your project.  I am loving the new stamp designs from Lisa Horton and have used one of her fab collage stamps to make this simple design:

I simply inked randomly with Distress Oxides and splattered with water to create a mottled look.  The collage stamp was stamped with black archival ink.  Super simple but the large stamped design has lots of elements within it.

It will be great to see your creations in the March gallery over at Craft Stamper and I hope you enjoy all of the fab inspiration from the rest of the DT.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Creative Cogs

Hello!

I have been playing with some more of my mdf elements this weekend and, in particular, the cogs which are now in my Folksy store. I used them on my art board stand to create this:

I painted everything with black gesso and used my grid stencil with black texture paste on the mdf base.  I then used a combination of acrylic paints and sprays in coppers, browns and greens to create the rusty metallic look on the base.  Similarly with the cogs, I embossed them in a range of rusty looking powders to create a textured, weathered look and adhered to the mdf stand.  I stamped and embossed in copper a few of the smaller moths from Visible Image and a sentiment in a green patina effect powder from Stamplorations.  I also highlighted the letters in a few old metal eyelets and embossed them with the same powder.

I shall link up at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge where the challenge for March is to use a stencil and at least 3 mediums.

I will also link up at the Anything Mixed Media Challenge over at Mixed Media World.

Here are the cogs and stencil that I used from my Folksy store.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

Sarah x

More Work with Stencils

Hello!

I am popping in to show you a few more cards that I have made with my stencils to play along with some of my favourite challenges in blogland.  First up is a card made with the bold lips stencil:

I used the mask part of the stencil and then used a Tim Holtz splatter stencil round the outside in a range of colours to create a vibrant design.  The sentiment is from Skull and Cross Buns.  I shall link this up at Time Out where the word inspiration is Bold and at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes.

Here I inked through my new peacock stencil and highlighted some parts of the feathers with gold glitter.  The sentiment is from Avery Elle (I think).  I shall link this up at Seize the Birthday where Anything Goes.

You can find the stencils in my Folksy store.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Playing Along at The Library!

Hello!

I have been wanting to play along at a fab new challenge - The Library Challenge - which is a great idea put together by the lovely Marina.  Each challenge is based on a book and you can make a card inspired by the cover, title or story.  The first challenge features one of my fave books - Pride and Prejudice.

Here is my card:

I went with both the story and the cover image which contains peacocks for my inspiration.  Also I always thing that peacocks are very proud too!  This card features another of my stencils that are available in my Folksy store.  As it is a stencil it is easy to turn it over to get the mirror image!  

Here is the book cover - the challenge is open until 10 March:

While I had my peacock stencil out, I made another card:

Here I used glue through the stencil to create a gilded image and combined it with a gold embossed sentiment from Papertrey.  I think this looks quite elegant against the rich blue!  I shall link this card up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes and at Addicted to Stamps which is also Anything Goes.

I hope you like my cards and this new stencil:

Thanks as always for stopping by :)

Sarah x